Stingray injury

{{short description|Injury from a stingray's barbed tail}}

{{Infobox medical condition (new)

| name = Stingray injury

| synonyms =

| image = Stingray injury.jpg

| width =

| alt =

| caption = Treatment of an injury in a life guard tower, with hot water

| pronounce =

| specialty = Emergency medicine

| symptoms =

| complications =

| onset =

| duration =

| types =

| causes =

| risks =

| diagnosis =

| differential =

| prevention =

| treatment =

| medication =

| prognosis =

| frequency =

| deaths = Steve Irwin

}}

A stingray injury is caused by the venomous tail spines, stingers or dermal denticles of rays in the order Myliobatiformes, most significantly those belonging to the families Dasyatidae, Urotrygonidae, Urolophidae, and Potamotrygonidae. Stingrays generally do not attack aggressively or even actively defend themselves. When threatened, their primary reaction is to swim away. However, when attacked by predators or stepped on, the stinger in their tail is whipped up. This is normally ineffective against sharks, their main predator.{{cite web | url = http://www.caribbeanmag.com/search/articles/Cayman_Islands/Stingray_city___diving___snorkeling_grand_cayman.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071008050907/http://www.caribbeanmag.com/search/articles/Cayman_Islands/Stingray_city___diving___snorkeling_grand_cayman.html | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2007-10-08 | title = About Stingrays | publisher = Caribbean Magazine}}{{unreliable source?|date=August 2016}}

Depending on the size of the stingray, humans are usually stung in the lower limb region.{{cite web|title=Stingray Injury|url=http://www.emedicinehealth.com/stingray_injury/article_em.htm|publisher=WebMD|access-date=23 July 2012|author=DuBois, David MD, MS, FAAEM, FACEP|year=2012|quote="People who step on a stingray most frequently are injured on their feet and lower legs."}} Stings usually occur when swimmers or divers accidentally step on a stingray, but a human is less likely to be stung by simply brushing against the stinger. Those who enter waters with large populations of stingrays are advised to slide their feet through the sand rather than taking normal steps, as the rays detect the vibrations in the sand and swim away.{{Cite web|url=http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/round_stingray|title=Round Stingray (Round Ray)|last=Pacific|first=Aquarium of the|website=www.aquariumofpacific.org|language=en|access-date=2018-08-19}}{{cite web | last=Company | first=Tampa Publishing | title=Do the stingray shuffle to avoid nasty stings | website=Tampa Bay Times | date=2013-06-07 | url=https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/do-the-stingray-shuffle-to-avoid-nasty-stings/2125433/ | access-date=2021-10-14}}

There are reports of stingers breaking off in wounds, but this may be rare.{{Weasel inline|date=May 2022}}{{cite journal |last1=Clark |first1=Richard F. |last2=Girard |first2=Robyn Heister |last3=Rao |first3=Daniel |last4=Ly |first4=Binh T. |last5=Davis |first5=Daniel P. |title=Stingray Envenomation: A Retrospective Review of Clinical Presentation and Treatment in 119 Cases |journal=The Journal of Emergency Medicine |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=33–37 |year=2007 |pmid=17630073 |doi=10.1016/j.jemermed.2007.03.043 }} This would not be fatal to the stingray as it will be regrown at a rate of about {{convert|1.25|to|2|cm|in}} per month (though with significant variations depending on the size of the stingray and the exact species). {{Citation needed|date=August 2010}} Contact with the stinger causes local trauma (from the cut itself), pain, swelling, and muscle cramps from the venom, and possible later infection from bacteria or fungi.{{cite web|title=Stingray Injury Case Reports|url=http://www.toxinology.com/fusebox.cfm?staticaction=marine_vertebrates/ns-stingray_injuries.html|work=Clinical Toxicology Resources|publisher=University of Adelaide|access-date=22 October 2012}}

Immediate injuries to humans include envenomation, punctures, severed arteries and veins, and rarely death.{{cite journal |last=Taylor |first=G. |title=Toxic fish spine injury: Lessons from 11 years experience. |journal=South Pacific Underwater Medicine Society Journal |volume=30 |issue=1 |year=2000 |issn=0813-1988 |oclc=16986801 |url=http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/5828 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416175620/http://archive.rubicon-foundation.org/5828 |archive-date=2010-04-16 |url-status=usurped |access-date=2008-06-15 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.healio.com/orthopedics/journals/ORTHO/%7B0002011A-6581-43DB-B0BE-DD20BC56E29A%7D/Stingray-Injury-to-the-Webspace-of-the-Foot |title=Stingray Injury to the Webspace of the Foot | Orthopedics |publisher=Healio.com |access-date=2014-03-10}}{{cite journal |last1=Yamane |first1=Kunikazu |last2=Asato |first2=Jun |last3=Kawade |first3=Naofumi |last4=Takahashi |first4=Hajime |last5=Kimura |first5=Bon |last6=Arakawa |first6=Yoshichika |title=Two Cases of Fatal Necrotizing Fasciitis Caused by Photobacterium damsela in Japan |journal=Journal of Clinical Microbiology |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=1370–72 |year=2004 |pmid=15004123 |pmc=356853 |doi=10.1128/JCM.42.3.1370-1372.2004 }}

Fatal stings are very rare;{{cite journal |last1=Slaughter |first1=RJ |last2=Beasley |first2=DM |last3=Lambie |first3=BS |last4=Schep |first4=LJ |title=New Zealand's venomous creatures |journal=The New Zealand Medical Journal |volume=122 |issue=1290 |pages=83–97 |year=2009 |pmid=19319171 }} the most famous case is when Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin died in 2006, which was only the second case recorded in Australia since 1945.{{Cite web|url=https://scienceline.org/2006/09/ask-grant-irwin/|title=I thought stingrays were harmless, so how did one manage to kill the "Crocodile Hunter?"|date=11 September 2006}} In Irwin's case, the stinger penetrated his thoracic wall, causing massive trauma.{{cite web |author=Crocodile Hunter |url=http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/crochunter/steve-irwin/stingray/stingray.html |title=Discovery Channel Mourns the Death of Steve Irwin |publisher=Animal.discovery.com |date=2012-05-30 |access-date=2014-03-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130107070254/http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/crochunter/steve-irwin/stingray/stingray.html |archive-date=2013-01-07 }}